Centaur Stampede in the Wilderness
Violet Tweedale, a famous writer, spiritualist and alleged psychic published a book in 1919 called 'Ghosts I Have Seen: And Other Psychic Experiences' in which she recounted an amazing tale that had been told to her by a foreign Grand Duchess. The Duchess claimed that she and her husband had been travelling in Greece when they were startled by a stampeding herd of creatures that could only be described as mythological centaurs... Chiron's Charge The Grand Duchess and her husband spent most of their time in England, but on this fateful night the affluent couple were wandering in the wilds of Greece. The moon hung bright in the sky, and they were trekking across a bare mountainside when they decided to sit down to rest and take in the beauty and utter loneliness of the moonlit scene. They had not been sitting down for very long when they became aware of a sound that they initially took to be the galloping of many horses’ hoofs approaching them. This surprised them, because they were in such a secluded and unexplored part of the country, and there were no roads anywhere nearby. Apparently it was highly unusual to hear horses galloping at such a speed on rough terrain at night. Fearing that they would soon be trampled, the well-bred pair stood up to make certain that the horses saw them - for it sounded very much like a headlong rush was soon to come. Whatever they were expecting at that moment, I highly doubt that it was what actually came to pass. They didn't need to wait long before a troop of creatures, half-men, half-horses, tore past them, helter-skelter. Instead of the sense of utter terror that one would expect from such an event, the centaur stampede actually inflicted a sense of joy and exhilaration upon the witnesses. Both husband and wife were enraptured by a sense of wild elation and apparently both felt a strong desire to join the mythological legion around them. Almost as quickly as they had arrived, the centaurs disappeared, the thundering of their hoofs spreading out across the hills before dying down and vanishing completely. Upon their return to their encampment, they found that their Greek servants in a state of hysteria, shivering with terror, and struggling with equally terrified horses to prevent a stampede. All that could be gleaned from the terrified servants was that they had heard something that they knew of, and that they knew to fear... Many Years Ago... This story was first published in a book in 1919, and the only indication of the date of the occurrence is that it took place many years ago. The author also ponders if Algernon Blackwood was inspired by this account to write his 1911 book 'The Centaur', seeing as there is a scene in that which is very similar to this alleged happening. Whether 'The Centaur' was inspired by this incident or this incident was actually a hoax inspired by said book is up for the reader to decide, methinks. Source http://hauntedohiobooks.com/news/creature-feature-the-centaur-1/ Category:Case Files Category:Centaurs Category:Wild Hunt